Young Thug’s YSL RICO Trial Shaken Up After Co-Defendants’ Lawyers Get Pregnant

Young Thug‘s pending trial could face another delay as prosecutors are seeking to have two of the defendants in the YSL RICO case tried separately.

On Tuesday (February 14), the Fulton County District Attorney’s office filed a motion requesting to have Kahlieff Adams and Tenquarius Mender separated from the primary trial due to the fact that both of their attorneys are pregnant, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports.

With the trial expected to last six to nine months, prosecutors are concerned that Adams’ attorney Teombre Calland or Mender’s lawyer Nicole Fegan might have to take maternity leave before a verdict is reached. The women’s “impending and imminent personal leave of absence” would prevent them from effectively representing their clients, the motion argued.

Nicole Fegan told the AJC that she took objection to the language used in the motion and felt that the move made the district attorney’s office seem “unsympathetic to expectant mothers,” particularly those like her and Calland who “who already face challenges in a male-dominated career.”

“I don’t think pregnancy should be treated as a disease or a disability,” she said. “I think at this point, trying them separately would be expensive and potentially prejudicial because the jury selection process has already started. We’ve been on this case since May, and in May I wasn’t pregnant.”

Both Kahlieff Adams and Tenquarius Mender have stated that they do not want to be represented by other attorneys.

The DA’s office, which doesn’t feel like separating these two co-defendants would disrupt the trial, has requested a hearing as soon as possible. However, with the court in recess until February 21 due to President’s Day, Judge Ural Glanville won’t rule on the motion until March 1.

If Glanville grants the prosecution’s request, Young Thug’s co-defendant count in this trial will drop down to 11. Of the 28 people originally charged in the May 2022 indictment, eight have accepted plea deals in the case; six more will be tried separately, as they were not arrested before the start of the trial.

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Tenquarius Mender was previously offered a deal by the DA’s office as well; however he chose to turn it down just days after Nicole Fegan’s own requested to have him severed from the trial was denied.

Last month, Khalieff Adams made headlines after he was accused of handing a single Percocet pill to Young Thug in the middle of court proceedings on January 18. The entire incident — during which Adams allegedly walked up to Thug, who was seated next to his attorney, and handed him the pill — was captured on closed-circuit cameras inside the Fulton County Superior Courthouse.

A Fulton County Sherriff’s deputy immediately approached Young Thug and asked him to open his hand to reveal what he had received from Adams, who also goes by the name Bobby Hunt. After recovering the pill from Thugger, the deputy approached his co-defendant to search him.

Kahlieff Adams attempted to resist the search. However, authorities were able to recover additional Percocet pills, marijuana, tobacco and other unspecified contraband hidden on his person. The items had been wrapped in plastic and food seasoning to mask the cannabis smell, court documents stated.

According to WSB-TV, attorney Surinder K. Chadha Jimenez, who represents one of Thug and Adams’ other co-defendants, filed a motion the following Friday (January 20) in which he claimed that the man was “tased several times,” following the search.

Jimenez also requested that an independent law enforcement agency, like the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, review the entire incident to not only determine whether Young Thug and Kahlieff Adams committed a crime, but also whether the Fulton County Sherriff’s Deputies used excessive force.

Authorities claimed the defendant was taken to nearby Grady Memorial Hospital after attempting to ingest some of the items he was carrying, but Jimenez offered a different account of events.

“Shortly after Mr. Adams is taken to the back holding cells, while in the courtroom, the undersigned attorney, his client, and several other individuals could hear loud banging and yelling coming from the holding area where Mr. Adams was being held,” the defense attorney wrote. “While the disturbance took place, several officers ran into the courtroom and went into the holding area where Mr. Adams was being held.”

The motion further insinuated that the entire exchange could impact the jury selection process, as potential jurors could hear the same noises from the hallway where they were waiting outside of the courtroom.

In an interview with WSB-TV, shared via Twitter by reporter Michael Seiden, Young Thug’s lawyer Keith Adams maintained his client’s innocence.

“The reality is Mr. Williams had nothing to do with what went on in the courtroom yesterday,” the attorney said. “One of the co-defendants, on his way to the restroom, attempted to pass something to Mr. Williams, who immediately turned it over to the deputy. He did not know what it was, turned it over to the deputies right away.”